Kjell Qvale, automotive pioneer, dies in San Francisco at the age of 94

Kjell Qvale, a Norwegian-born businessman who was one of the first to import cars to the United States from Europe and later went on to create a famous brand of sports car, died in San Francisco Nov. 2 at the age of 94.

Mr. Qvale introduced west coast sports car aficionados to the MG in the early 1950s and also imported cars made by Porsche, Audi, Maserati and Volkswagen. Mr. Qvale created British Motor Car Distributors in San Francisco, a dealership that sells Land Rover, Jaguar, Bentley, Lamborghini and Lotus cars.

In the 1970s, Mr. Qvale bought an auto factory in England and, with Donald Healey as his partner, created the Jensen-Healey. Mr. Qvale’s factory then produced the big, Chrysler-powered Jensen Interceptor sports cars.

More about Kjell Qvale in this Autoweek obituary, which includes a press release that gives details about Mr. Qvale’s life.